The volunt-amat-communi-blogger

I’ve written this post at least six times and thrown it away eight times. Put your calculator away. Yes, I can count. Yes, I’m being metaphorical.

What kind of blogger am I? According to the Times Union, I’ve been referred to on various occasions as a “reader-blogger,” a “community blogger,” an “amateur blogger,” a “volunteer blogger,” and in some TU blogs I’m referred to with less flattering argot and snide sobriquets.

There’s no confusion about what I am. I’m a blogger. In fact, if I really have to brand myself, I’m an independent blogger. Have I written about food? Yes. Have I written about travel? Sure. Have I written about life and relationships and emotions? Certainly. Have I written snarky blog posts? You betcha. I’ve written nearly 1,800 different blog posts in the past 3 1/2 years, on 1,800 different topics and on 1,800 different concepts.

And there’s no sign of stopping. Even after 1,800 blog posts, I still feel the need to blog.

And some would say to me, “Chuck, why don’t you put together your own WordPress or Blogspot blog? You don’t need the Times Union to be a blogger. You can hang out your own shingle.”

Trust me. I HAVE hung out my own blogging shingle. Twice. And some of the old blogspot.com posts are still floating around the Internet. But they weren’t as satisfying as writing as part of an established portal. Writing with the blogspot.com portal was just like crafting an online diary – a web-log, if you will. Realistically, where do you think the word “blog” comes from?

In all honesty, I do need the Times Union. But they need me, too.

My observations on life – a single man hitting the last months of his fifth decade of existence upon this planet – is needed by the TU just as much as it needs the observations of every other blogger on its portal, both the staff bloggers and the independent ones.

Perhaps I truly am an “amateur blogger,” and I’ve had this discussion before between what is an amateur and what is a professional. A professional gets paid for his work, an amateur doesn’t. It’s not whether an amateur is better or worse than a professional. In fact, the word “amateur” is derived from the Latin word amat, meaning “to love.” The TU doesn’t pay me to do this gig. Nor do I pay it to do so. I don’t receive any remuneration from the advertisers that grace my page. I’m not beholden to any advertiser or to any company. Those who I mention in my blog are the ones who have provided me quality service, not any sort of discounts or “under-the-table” payments; and if any of them ever offer, I politely turn them down.

And the TU does allow me a wealth of creative freedom with my blog. So long as I don’t use barnyard language or put up offensive, gory photographs, we’re all good. Once in a while, someone at the TU front office likes my blog post enough to list it in the print edition’s “Best of our Blogs.” That’s always a nice feeling when that occurs. Not complaining at all.

In fact, blogging for the TU has allowed me an opportunity to interact with fellow bloggers and writers, to a level I wasn’t previously provided. We’ve shared friendships, we’ve shared challenges, we’ve waved goodbye when one of the bloggers leaves the TU portal for greener pastures. Trust me, there is a sense of community in the Times Union blog portal; it’s noticeable and its encouraged and it’s supported.

And over the past 3 1/2 years, I’ve developed my own distinct reader fanbase – those who have been with me since day 1, and those who have joined over time. Trust me. I appreciate when people like Pat and Potrzebie and D357 and Lazygal and MaryKayLisa and Lwoodbluz and Lisa C and Harper and HokieMom and everyone else provide their thoughts on my blog. And I appreciate when new people join up and say to me, “I can’t wait for the next Collarworld story,” or “I only read your blog for the trivia results, but I can’t wait to read the next one,” etc., etc.

It’s part of my commitment to you, my readers. In my creative process, I need to provide something in this blog that will bring you back each time – not specifically to see the TU advertisements, not specifically to increase my blog clicks – but, realistically, to bring you back to appreciate what I write. All my joys, all my sorrows, all my achievements and all my stumbles. This commitment is very important to me. And I never want my words to let anyone down.

Writing a blog post every day is a challenge. But it’s a challenge that I willingly signed up to undertake. And it’s a challenge that I will continue to provide to you, without question.

Thanks for reading my blog today. Check back tomorrow for a new blog post. Don’t know what it’ll be about… but I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

Whereas I, who was blogging on my own before blogging for the TU, have never really figured out what I’m doing here. Conversely, I have a strong sense of what I’m doing on my own blog. I could, I suppose, crosspost them, and I have, rarely, but it seems like a cheat.

Can’t say I’ve ever seen you use baa, oink, quack, neigh, moo, or maa; but I didn’t know the TU forbade it. You know that I, and I’m pretty sure that “you know who”, wouldn’t object to that kind of barnyard language. Give it a try, and if Mr. Huber objects, tell him that I said it was OK.

With that outta the way, thanks for the realistic blogs everyday, Chuck. You’re like a member of the family.

Note: The Times Union is not responsible for posts and comments written by non-staff members.

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Chuck Miller: Writer, Photographer, and the life lessons I learned from Street Academy